Mavs Rookie Omoruyi Out 4-6 Months After Toe Surgery
Mavericks two-player Eugene Omoruyi recently underwent surgery on his right big toe and will require 4-6 months to return to basketball activities, the team’s PR department tweets. Head coach Jason Kidd said Omoruyi will likely miss the remainder of the season, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
Omoruyi suffered the injury in an NBA G League game with the Texas Legends on December 15.
Undrafted out of Oregon, the 24-year-old small forward has appeared in four games with Dallas this season. He has averaged 15.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 2.9 APG in eight G League games.
Omoruyi played his first three college seasons with Rutgers.
Dallas could look to add another two-way player to replace Omoruyi. Like many teams, the Mavericks have been hit hard by COVID-19 cases as of late.
Karl-Anthony Towns Enters League Protocols
Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. McKinley Wright IV has also been placed in the protocols.
They join a long list of Minnesota players currently in league protocols. Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt will also miss the team’s game against Utah on Thursday.
Towns and Wright will be sidelined at least 10 days, unless they can register two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart during that span.
Towns was the Western Conference Player of the Week as the Timberwolves went 3-0 during the week of December 13-19, with victories over the Nuggets, Lakers, and Mavericks. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 28.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.3 BPG on .547/.375/.870 shooting in those three games (33.9 MPG). Wright, a rookie, has appeared in just one game.
Towns and his family have been affected greatly by the virus. Multiple family members, including his mother, died from COVID-19. Towns had his own battle after contracting the virus last winter, as he lost 50 pounds.
Four Pistons, Including Stewart, Enter Protocols
Pistons center Isaiah Stewart and guards Killian Hayes and Saben Lee have entered the league’s health and safety protocols ahead of the team’s game against Miami Thursday evening, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Reserve swingman Rodney McGruder has also entered the protocols, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III tweets.
Top pick Cade Cunningham entered the protocols on Wednesday. The Pistons, who have lost 15 of their last 16 contests, will obviously be severely shorthanded for the game.
Those players will be sidelined for at least 10 days, unless they can register two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart during that span.
Stewart is averaging 7.9 PPG and 8.4 RPG. Hayes has started regularly as well, though he’s averaging just 6.4 PPG and 3.7 APG. Lee has come off the bench in 15 games and scored 16 points against the Knicks on Tuesday. McGruder has appeared in 14 games.
With Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk unavailable due to long-term injuries, the Pistons’ frontcourt is severely depleted with Trey Lyles and rookie Luka Garza the main options.
Timberwolves Sign Chris Silva To 10-Day Contract
DECEMBER 21: Silva’s 10-day contract with the Wolves is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. It’ll run through December 30.
DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are re-signing power forward Chris Silva using the hardship exemption, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Silva was waived by the club during training camp. Silva has played in 59 NBA games with career averages of 2.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG (7.4 MPG) over the past two seasons with the Heat and Kings.
He has averaged 15.1 PPG and 9,8 RPG in 12 starts this season with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.
Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt are all currently in the league’s health and safety protocols and won’t play in Minnesota’s game against Dallas on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.
The team is likely to sign one more replacement player soon, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.
Timberwolves Sign Rayjon Tucker To 10-Day Deal
DECEMBER 21: The Timberwolves have officially signed Tucker to a 10-day deal in advance of their game on Tuesday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.
DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are signing swingman Rayjon Tucker via the hardship exemption, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Tucker was signed and waived by the Bucks this offseason on an Exhibit 10 contract.
Tucker spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021. He has appeared in a total of 34 regular season games in his first two NBA seasons, averaging a modest 2.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 6.7 minutes per contest.
He has averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.1 APG in 32.2 MPG while appearing in 13 games this season for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate.
Minnesota has five players — Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt — currently in the league’s health and safety protocols. The Timberwolves are also reportedly signing forward Chris Silva under the hardship exemption.
Pelicans Apply For DPE Due To Lewis Injury
The Pelicans have applied for a disabled player exception due to Kira Lewis‘ season-ending knee injury, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.
Lewis suffered a torn ACL and a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his right knee earlier this month against Denver.
A DPE allows a team to sign a player without using cap space. If a player is seriously injured, his team can apply for the disabled player exception to replace him. If granted, the disabled player exception allows a club to sign a replacement player for 50% of the injured player’s salary, or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
In Lewis’ case, he’s making $3,822,240 this season, so the DPE would be worth approximately $1.91MM. It could be used to sign a player to a one-year deal or to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim, if he’s in the final year of his contract.
The 13th overall pick of the 2020 draft, Lewis appeared in 24 games this season (14.2 MPG) and averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .404/.224/.805 shooting line.
The Pelicans exercised their third-year option on Lewis prior to the season, so his salary will be guaranteed through next season.
Mavs’ Maxi Kleber Enters Protocols
Maxi Kleber has been added to the list of Mavericks players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
Kleber joins Reggie Bullock and Josh Green in the COVID-19 protocols. Luka Doncic (left ankle soreness), Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) and Eugene Omoruyi (right foot injury) will also miss Tuesday’s game against the Timberwolves. Minnesota has five players in the protocols.
Kristaps Porzingis (toe soreness) is questionable to play.
Kleber played 31 minutes against Minnesota, contributing six points and 14 rebounds. He’s averaging 7.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG.
The Mavs have signed Theo Pinson and are planning to sign Marquese Chriss via the hardship exemption to fortify the roster. Dallas also has two assistant coaches, Jared Dudley and Darrell Armstrong, who have been placed in protocols.
Atlantic Notes: Riller, Celtics, Stevens, Walker, McBride
Grant Riller was waived by the Sixers on Sunday and new details have emerged why that move was made. He’s undergoing right shoulder surgery and will miss the next four-to-six months, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Riller was on a two-way contract and could return to Philly next season after he recovers. Riller, a 24-year-old point guard, suffered a torn meniscus in early October and injured the shoulder in a G League game last month.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Boston has new vaccine requirements for indoor dining, fitness, and entertainment establishments going into effect next month, according to a Boston Globe report. However, all professional athletes are exempt, meaning it won’t have any impact on the Celtics or visiting players, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets. Under the new mandate, proof of at least one vaccine dose will be required after January 15 to enter those facilities except for medical or religious reasons.
- Brad Stevens has had far more hits than misses in the moves he’s made since becoming president of basketball operations 200 days ago, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston opines. Forsberg breaks down each transaction while noting that those moves can’t be fully judged until Stevens utilizes the cap flexibility generated by them.
- Kemba Walker and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau have not discussed the point guard’s situation since he was removed from the rotation, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. However, Walker doesn’t want to be a distraction. “I’m not starting, I ain’t playing,” Walker said. “So I’m here for my team, I’m here for my teammates. I can’t say it enough. Whatever’s asked of me that’s what I’m here for.” Walker erupted for 29 points in 37 minutes for the depleted Knicks on Saturday, his first action since Nov. 26.
- Thibodeau has been impressed by the team’s rookies, particularly guard Miles McBride, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. “The thing that I was most proud of is the way those guys all worked. ,,, they’ve been phenomenal and not just in the way they work but when they were competing in practice,” he said. McBride is currently in the health and safety protocols.
Nuggets Re-Sign Davon Reed
DECEMBER 19: The move is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).
DECEMBER 18: The Nuggets are re-signing guard Davon Reed to another 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The exemption has been granted to teams with COVID-19 and/or injury issues. It allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.
According to our latest count, the team still has two players in health and safety protocols, though one (Michael Porter Jr.) is injured. The other player still sidelined by protocols is Bol Bol. They also have two other players out of action due to long-term injuries.
Reed signed on December 4. He’s averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 16.5 MPG while appearing in six games.
Reed had previously been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. A 2017 second-rounder, Reed appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.
Celtics Sign Justin Jackson Via Hardship Exemption
4:17pm: Jackson’s signing is official, the Celtics announced in a press release.
11:35am: The Celtics are planning to sign forward Justin Jackson to a 10-day contract using the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Jackson has been playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ NBA G League affiliate.
The 15th pick of the 2017 draft, Jackson has appeared in 248 NBA games. Last season, he played 33 games for the Thunder and another for the Bucks. He began his career with Sacramento and also played one full season and part of another for Dallas.
The Mavericks waived Jackson during training camp prior to this season.
Boston has a handful of players in the league’s health and safety protocols — Sam Hauser, Juan Hernangomez, Al Horford, Jabari Parker and Grant Williams. The exemption is being used by multiple clubs to handle the current COVID crisis around the league. Players signed via the exemption don’t count against the 15-man roster limit.